 RFE/RL Headlines 3/24/2010 A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Features  Akaev: Kyrgyzstan Now 'Island Of Criminals,' Not Democracy Kyrgyzstan today marks the five-year anniversary of the "Tulip" or "People's" Revolution, in which widespread protests over rigged parliamentary elections culminated in the ouster of the country's president, Askar Akaev. RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service asked Akaev his opinion of the country he was forced to leave. More  Moldova Impresses EU With Reform Agenda An EU-hosted donors' conference in Brussels today gave an almost unconditional thumbs-up to the reform agenda of Moldova's government, pledging $2.6 billion dollars to help it reach its goals. It represents a remarkable turnaround for the country, whose relations with the EU and international investors were cool at best during years of communist rule. More  U.S.-Pakistan Talks Target Skepticism For years, the United States and Pakistan have had a rocky relationship that's left each country leery of the other. Now the U.S. administration is reaching out to Pakistan, aware that its war in Afghanistan relies on mutual trust. More  Bakiev Challenged By Kyrgyz Assembly A national assembly in Bishkek was meant to be a show of support for the government of Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev -- five years since the Tulip Revolution that brought him to power. But it didn't quite all go to plan. More  Kyrgyz President Pooh-Poohs 'Western-Style Democracy' Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev used a major speech ahead of the fifth anniversary of the Tulip Revolution to suggest that "Western-style democracy" may no longer be suitable for Kyrgyzstan. More  Afghanistan, China Sign Economic Agreements Afghan President Hamid Karzai has met with his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, in Beijing as part of a three-day visit expected to touch upon regional security and economic cooperation between the two neighbors. More Russian Doctors Jailed For Taking Bribes Four Russian medical officials have been jailed for taking bribes for issuing false disability certificates. More  Iranian Filmmakers Demand Release Of Famed Colleague A group of Iranian film directors and artists has written an open letter to the government demanding the "unconditional release" of prize-winning filmmaker Jafar Panahi. More Two policemen in Russia's southwestern Samara Oblast have been officially charged in the alleged beating of a man in their custody. More Police in Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula are investigating a video that appears to show the violent killing of several men. More  Russian Activists Arrested Protesting French Nuclear Waste Five Greenpeace activists have been arrested at the French Embassy in Moscow while protesting the docking of a French ship in St. Petersburg that is carrying nuclear waste. More  Russian Protesters Demand PM Resign About 500 protesters gathered in the central Russian city of Barnaul today to protest utility-price hikes and demand the resignation of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. More  Car Blast In Tajik Capital Injures Policeman Tajik police say a car bomb has exploded in the capital, Dushanbe. More  Kocharian Criticizes Armenian Policies Former Armenian President Robert Kocharian has criticized the economic policies of the current government. More  Sarkisian Visits Site Of 1915 Tragedy Armenia's President Serzh Sarkisian is due to visit an area of Syria that was the final destination in what Armenians consider the first genocide of the 20th century. More  Hope For Breaking Moldova Deadlock Moldova appeared to move closer to resolving a political stalemate today as the opposition Communist Party agreed to join the government for talks on changing the way the country's president is elected. More  Tajik PM Disputes Uzbek Rail Rationale Tajikistan's prime minister has described as an "excuse" Uzbekistan's claims that technical problems are blocking freight trains bound for his country. More Lukashenka As You've Never Seen Him Before You don't see this every day: Belarus's President Alyaksandr Lukashenka in his swimming trunks. More  Russia's Reclusive Genius Interesting piece in The Guardian about Grigory Perelman, a reclusive Russian mathmatics genius, who has spurned a $1 million prize. More  Trip To Israel By Neda's 'Fiance' Causes Controversy The visit by an Iranian, Caspian Makan, who claims to be the fiance of Neda Agha Soltan, to Israel has been condemned by some Iranian bloggers and opposition members who believe the trip could damage the opposition movement. More  Ingushetian President Denies Pressuring Judiciary Senior judges in Ingushetia have written to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev complaining that republican President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov interferes in the work of the judiciary by dictating to individual judges what verdict to hand down. Yevkurov for his part has flatly rejected that accusation and insists that he only asks that judges should abide within the framework of the law. More The Georgian authorities have rejected a formal application for Georgian citizenship by Moscow-based Georgian businessman Aleksandr Ebraelidze, who is head of the World Congress of Peoples of Georgia and announced last May that he plans to participate in the Georgian presidential ballot due in January 2013. More  Further Call For Repealing Daghestan's Controversial 'Anti-Wahhabism' Law Publicist and independent trade-union head Isalmagomed Nabiyev has written to Daghestan's new president, Magomedsalam Magomedov, urging him to annul the republican law passed in September 1999 banning "Wahhabism" and "other extremist activity." More |
